Safety-gate for bridges



B. ZINDEL.

SAFETY GATE FOR BRIDGES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20I I920.

Patented Jan. 4,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

awwmboz B. ZJNDEL.

S'A'FETY GATE FOR BRIDGES. 'APPLICATIO'H FILED MAY 20, 1920.

4,421. Patented Jan. 4,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- UNITED STATES BARNEY ZINDEL, OF GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN.

SAFETY-GATE FOR BRIDGES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

Application filed May 20, 1920. Serial No. 382,895.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BARNEY ZINDEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Green Bay, in the county of Brown and State of W'isconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in. Safety-Gates for Bridges; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the'art to which it a'ppertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved safety gate for use in connection with a bridge having a section which may be swung to a raised position and one object of the invention is to provide an improved operating means for the safety gate so that when the movable section or draw is swung to a raised position, the safety gate will be lowered and thus prevent danger of accidents.

Another object of the invention is to so construct this operating mechanism that opening of the draw will cause the gate to swing to a lowered position and closing of the draw will cause the gate to swing to a raised position.

Another object of the invention is to so construct this operating mechanism that gates upon both sides of a bridge may be simultaneously operated and to further so construct the operating mechanism that retation of the main shaft may be limited and abutment means provided constituting yieldable bumpers.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a view showing a bridge inlongitudinal section with the safety gate in a raised position and the draw or movable bridge section in a lowered or closed position. v

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through a bridge showing the safety gate at one end 'of the draw in a lowered position, the gates and operating mechanism being disclosed in elevation.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in elevation showing the balance wheel and bumper means forming part of the operating mechanism.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing a portion of one of the gates in longitudinal and horizontal section.

Fig. 5 is a View showing the structure of Fig. 4 partially inelevation and partially in section.

shown in Fig. 5.

, These gates will be usedin connection with a bridge indicated ingeneral by the numeral 1 and having a movable section or draw 2 which will be constructed and mounted in the usual manner for swinging vertically to an open position. The means for mounting and swinging the section 2 is of a conventional construction and is indicated by the numeral 3. These gates will be mounted upon the bridge at opposite ends of the-movable section 2 and in spaced relation to the movable section and will be mounted to extend transversely of the bridge when in a lowered position as shown in Fig. 2 thus shutting off the bridge to the draw and preventing danger of vehicles running into an open draw. The gates at the opposite ends of the draw will have a duplicate construction and the operating mechanism will be similar in construction except for a change hereinafter noted and therefore a description of one will suffice for both sets.

These gates are erected upon opposite sides of the bridge as shown in Fig. 2 and each gate is provided with a base 4 having spaced side bars or arms 5 which carry a shaft 6 upon which the main gate 7 is mounted for vertical swinging movement.

This main gate carries the auxiliary gate 8 which is pi'votal'ly'connected with the main gate through the medium of ashaft 9 and this shaft 9 carries a gear wheel or pinion 10 which meshes with, an idler gearing 11 rotatably connected with the "main gate as The-gear or pinion 11 in addition to'meshin'g. with the gear 10 meshes with a large gear 12 secured to the base 4 about the shaft 6 and as the maingate 7 swings the idler gear 11 will be rotated and rotary movement will be transmitted to the shaft 9 thus causing the auxiliary gatef8 to swing upwardly and downwardly with 'the main gate. It will thus be seen that as the main gate swings intoa ndout of position to extend across the vehicle and car section of a bridge, the auxiliary gate will, at the same time, move into and out of position to extend across the sidewalk section of the bridge.

A rocker shaft 13 is rotatably mounted beneath the bridge and is provided with crank arm extensions 14 from which extend links 15 having connection with the levers 16 of the shafts 6 for the two sets of gates as shown in Fig. 2 and it will thus be seen that when this rocker shaft 13 is rotated,

rotary movement will be imparted to the driving shafts of the two gates and the gates will be swung to a raised or a lowered position according to the direction in which the shaft 13 rotates. In order to normally retain the gates in a lowered position and cause the gates to be moved to a lowered position when the draw is opened, there has been provided a spring 17 which will be anchored as shown at 18 and have its opposite end connected with a lever arm 19 extending from the shaft 13. It is of course understood that if desired a number of lever arms 19 will be provided and a spring connected with each arm in order to increase the power and permit the gates to be easily swung to a lowered position. A draw bar 20 is connected with this lever arm 19 and is connected with a rocker lever 21 by means of a spring 22 carried by the lever 21 and a turn buckle 23 connected with the spring for free rotation and screwed upon the threaded end portion 24 of the draw bar 20. This rocker lever 21 is extended upwardly and connected with a plunger 25 which extends through a guide 26 and terminates in an enlarged head 27 constituting an abutment and a cam head for engagement by the similarly shaped head 28 of an abutment 29 carried by the bridge. It will thus be seen that when the bridge is in the closed position the abutment 29 through engagement with the head of the plunger will lock the lever 21 and draw upon the draw bar 20 thus rotating the shaft 13 and swinging the gates to a raised position against the action of the spring 17. When the draw is swung to the raised or open position the pressure is removed from the plunger 25 and the spring 17 will then act upon the lever 19 to rotate the shaft 13 and draw the gates down to a lowered position where they will extend across the bridge and shut off traffic.

The structure shown at the right hand portion of Fig. 1 is similar to that shown at the left hand portion except that the lever 19 is connected with a rocker bar 30 which extends horizontally or longitudinally of the bridge, the arm 19 being connected with this lever 30 through the medium of a spring 31. This lever 30 has its free end extend ing beyond the end of the stationary bridge section and terminates in a head 32 which resembles the head of a treadle and is engaged by an abutment 33 carried adjacent the end of the draw 2. This abutment 33 engages the head of the lever as the draw swings downwardly to the lowered or closed position and moves the lever 30 to draw upon the lever 19 and swing the safety nose to a raised position against the action of the spring 17. It will thus be seen that the gates at the opposite ends of the draw operate upon the same principle but are provided with a specific construction which is slightly different, this being necessary as the two end portions of the vertically swinging draw engage the stationary sections of the bridge from different directions.

It is desired to eliminate jolts and sudden stops as the safety gates move to a raised or a lowered position and in order to do so the shaft 13 has been provided with a balance wheel 3 1- which permits the shaft 13 to rotate easily. This balance wheel carries a counterbalancing weight 35 which extends circumferentially of the wheel to one side thereof and has its end portions provided with outstanding lips 36 for engaging the abutment bar 37. This bar 37 extends radially of the wheel 34: as shown clearly in Fig. 3 and is suspended by rods 38 which extend through openings in the supporting beams .39 of the bridge and carry abutment nuts 40 engaging the springs 11. When the shaft 13 rotates to swing the gates from one position to another the bar will be engaged by one end of the counter balancing trip 35 and this will limit rotation of the shaft 13 and permit the rotation of the shaft to be stopped without any sudden jar.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. The combination with a bridge having a stationary section and a movable section, of a safety gate movably mounted for extending across the stationary section of the bridge when the movable section is open and including a rotatably mounted rocker shaft,- a rocker shaft rotatably connected with the stationary section of the bridge and having connection with the rocker shaft of the gate for imparting rotary movement to the rocker shaft of the gate when the rocker shaft of the bridge rotates, an arm extending from the rocker shaft of the bridge, resilient means engaging the arm to yieldably hold the rocker shaft against rotation with the gate lowered, a rocker lever pivotally connected with the stationary section of the bridge, a pitman connecting said arm with one end of said lever, and a plunger connected with the second end of the lever and extending for engagement by an abutment carried by the movable bridge section to impart movement against the action of the resilient means and raising the gate when the movable bridge section is closed.

2. The combination with a bridge having a stationary section and a movable section, of a safety gate movably mounted for extending across the stationary section of the bridge when the movable section is open and including a rotatably mounted rocker shaft, a rocker shaft rotatably connected with the stationary section of the bridge and having connection with the rocker shaft of the gate for imgiirting rotary movement to the rocker s aft of the gate when the rocker shaft of the bridge rotates, an arm extending from the rocker shaft of the bridge, re-

silient means engaging the arm to yieldably hold the rocker shaft against rotation with the gate lowered, a rocker lever pivotally connected with the stationary section of the bridge, a pitman connecting said arm with one end of said lever and said lever extending for engagement by the movable bridge section and imparting rotary movement to the shaft of the bridge and raising the gate when the movable bridge section is moved to a closed position and engages the lever.

3. A safety gate comprising a support, a rocker shaft carried by the support, a main gate pivotally mounted by said shaft, a gear rigidly connected with the support about said shaft, an auxiliary gate, a pivot shaft connecting the auxiliary gate with the main gate for vertical swinging movement, a gear rigidly carried by the pivot shaft, a gear rotatably connected withthe main gate and having engagement with-the first and second mentioned gears for imparting rotary movement to the pivot shaft as the main gate swings vertically, and means for rotating the rocker shaft and swinging the main gate.

4. A safety gate comprising a support, a main gate pivotally connected with the support, an auxiliary gate pivotally connected With the main gate for vertical swinging movement, a driving gear rigidly connected with the support, the auxiliary gate having a pivot shaft journaled in the main gate to pivotally connect the auxiliary gate with the main gate, a gear rigidly connected with the pivot shaft of the auxiliary gate and a gear rotatably connected with the main gate and engage the first and second mentioned gears and impart rotary movement to the pivot shaft of the auxiliary gate and raise and lower the auxiliary gate with the main ate. g In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

BARNEY ZI'NDEL. 

